@Jnbmom wrote:
@GApeachy wrote:
@Np1791 wrote:
If you buy a term policy and outlive it and then try to buy another one then you may not qualify. If you do end up qualifying it will be ridiculously priced.Yep, this ^^^^ just happened to us. We both have our Whole Life but the Term (dh) is now a gonner. Btw Sistah, 54 soon too!
"Happy (early) Birthday!"
@GApeachy Hi my sistah
Yes we should have gotten earlier, so i am sure the price will be a little higher given our age, but it's really time to do this.
Of course I watch on my crime shows with 1 million dollars policy, where they be at
Yeah now is better than later if you have that ability, it's great peace of mind.
I know that's your main objective. We are in the process of getting more Term for the both of us- just for MORE peace of mind for our kids. So we both will have a whole life and a term life and that makes me feel better. Good Luck!
We just did 20 yr term for DH. He is 48 and we are very active/healthy so he qualified for the best terms. He pays about $100/month for 1 million. I'm 38, and still employed with a policy through work that pays 3x my salary.
We aimed for enough coverage each way to ensure the house could be paid off etc. His policy is more than mine because he is our daycare (he owns a small business that mostly operates in the evenings), and because I have substantial student loan debt that I'd potentially want to bring to 0 so I could be home with the kids more if need be. In reverse he'd just have the mortgage which will be paid off in 8 years anyhow. Plus I have a 403b/additional retirement savings that would be available.
Anyways, shorter version is I'd assess exactly what your needs are in each case. It may be different and you may want different types of coverage. You may need more coverage now than you'd need later. I get the argument for whole life, but it's a fair amount of hooch and may be overkill depending on your situation.
@Anonymous wrote:
@Shooting-For-800 wrote:
@Jnbmom wrote:Well hubby and I are getting up there, I will be 54 and he will be 57. Right now the only like insurance we have is through our employers so unless we die while we are employed (hope not) we really don't have anything after we hopefully retire in the next 10-12 years.
So just looking for suggestions? I know the older we are the higher the rate. Just curious if we should look into whole or term life insurance?
Term is the cheapest by FAR. Best for LIFE insurance value wise.
Is it best value if no claim is ever paid? At age 54 a female of average health will outlive your suggested 30-year term.
A claims executive for a very large life insurer asked me once how many claim I thought his company paid out per 100 term life policies sold. I had no idea but guessed ten. He told me they paid one.
I will stick with my original post.
Life expectacy for a woman in the USA that is currently 54 is 29 more years.
In most cases for people who are looking for LIFE insurance, term is the best value overall.
Whole life is basically a savings account and a term policy together that costs 2-4 times as much as term.
In the real world, life insurance policies become so expensive at some point in one's life that they end up being canceled anyway. That is a major reason many policies never pay out.
I clearly stated the opion of having multiple policies including having both whole and term for those who can not decide.
The idea of life insurance for many is to help pay the bills when a spouse dies early and that income is lost.
There is no advantage to whole life as a savings account when you can buy better investments.
Most people are not concerned with their life insurance policies when they are 85-90 years old.
Most people are buying to take care of the mortgage or loss of income from a spouse.
AGAIN, one could buy a 20-30 year policy every few years extending the dates for expiration (at much less than whole.)
If OP is on the fence, split the amount willing to pay for a premium and pay equal amounts for both whole and term.
(yes, term will be a much higher payout if someone dies before policy expiration.)
ie - $50k of whole for $200 per month + $150k of 30 year term for $200 per month gives you $200k for $400 per month and a lot of flexibility.
I would also advise someone to go with multiple smaller policies from multiple companies rather than 1 or 2 big policies. This allows flexibility in terminating what you cannot afford. It also reduces your chances of having an issue with payout when the time comes. I would rather get 4 of my 5 policies payout then losing my only policy or fighting with my only policy holder for payout.
Generally, cost is not dramatically discounted based on payout. In other words, $200k generally costs close to twice as much as $100k.
FTR - Agents and insurance companies make more money on Whole Life Policies.
JMO.
